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It's illegal to send chain letters that ask you to send money in exchange for a promise of bigger cash. That hasn't stopped these old-fashioned pyramid schemes by mail, which persist despite the movement of so many fraudsters to computers and cell phones.

A St. Louis Park woman got a letter recently that asked the recipient to send $5 to each of six people listed on the letter. Then she was supposed to replace one name on the list with hers and mail the new letter to at least 200 other people. In return, the letter promised that "you will receive $$$ MONEY." The letter included the name and phone number of a real marketing company in Arizona that sells mailing lists.

People should break the chain by turning in these kinds of letters to their postmaster.

Read the letter below, and let us know about your chain letter experiences:

Chain letter